Because competition cannot be avoided, a strategy is needed to deal with it. Although, business sustainability depends on sustainable transactions with consumers. Consumers can continue to make transactions if they don’t turn to competitors or other solutions. That is what is called losing competition. Consumers choose better competitors.

To maintain business sustainability, businesses strive to maintain competitive advantage. When compared to competitors, it is still an option for the target segment.

to deal with that, there are several generic strategies.

1. Cost-effective compared to competitors

If a business offers cost savings to consumers, it will be greatly taken into account in purchasing decisions. Consumers prefer to buy cheap goods for them.

For businesses, to reduce costs not only by reducing profits. Reducing costs can be done by efficiency of the production process, through more efficient technology, through mass production, through the replacement of materials without reducing quality, through renegotiation with suppliers or suppliers.

2. Differentiation

Differentiation is the difference in the product that allows the product to not be priced compared to competing products. Different that can be different designs, different qualities, different payment methods, different services and so on. Trust can be differentiation. Consumers are no longer price sensitive if they feel safe transacting with your business.

The company strives to increase the additional benefits that no competitor has. Products and services are constantly being improved and adjusted to the problems faced by customers. New ideas are developed for improvement and adjustment to customer desires. That makes competitors’ products obsolete.

Proximity to customers can also include competitiveness. Suppose the company manages and deepens its understanding with customers through friendliness and data collection of customer character profiles, so that customer specific needs are known. The data is used to improve products and services. That way, the company has differentiation competitiveness compared to other competitors.

3. Focus

Focus is also one way to compete. This focus can be both prices and specifications. If you can’t compete with prices in all markets, you may be able to compete at prices in specific markets. Competition also does not have to sell prices on special markets, it can also be cheaper consumer costs, because transportation coverage is easier. Focus is better than being exerting energy to be the best in all markets and fields. Because of the risks, he cannot achieve the best in all markets and fields.

According to Sigmund Freud, in humans, there is an unconscious psychic power that greatly influences human behavior. Awareness has little effect compared to unseen unconsciousness. Even the perpetrators themselves do not know and cannot state. Between unconsciousness and consciousness, there is a pre-consciousness, which is something that, if reminded, can still be realized. It’s like an iceberg, which looks little and small, but beneath the surface of the water is a large chunk of ice.

In addition to the three levels of consciousness, there are three psychic components, according to Freud. Ie, id, ego, super ego. All three have a different will and attractiveness affects humans. Id works with the principle of pleasure. Humans want to be happy and avoid misery. Id is childish. He wants to be happy without caring about the reality and needs of others. Id like a baby, if you want pleasure, just cry. Fun includes eating, drinking, love, and sex. Adults also have an ID, but are muted, weighing their possibilities in reality and their appropriateness. The ego works with the principle of reality. Reality gives the limits of desire and also the opportunity to realize desires through a certain path. The ego also dampens the id, that if you insist on the principle of pleasure, there will be a bad risk that occurs. Therefore, in adult humans, do not just obey fun. Superego works with the principle of having to follow moral demands without regard to reality. Superego mirrors the internalization of cultural rules taught by family, school, religion and society. The Superego provides an ideal standard and consequently provides guilt.

The meaning of differentiating pre-conscious awareness and unconsciousness for marketers is that the desires and needs expressed by someone are not complete stories. There is still a need at the level of pre-conscious and unconscious. To know the pre-conscious and unconscious needs, the psychologist has an anamnesis method (interpretation of personal biography), free association (the patient is asked any story in a relaxed atmosphere), dream analysis, interpretation of symbols, interpretation of slippage. Marketers may not have time to learn the technique and apply it to consumers. Marketers can do a laddering technique. This technique is based on the theoretical view that purchasing decisions are based on different levels of awareness. People buy products, usually the reasons given for the attributes of products and services. The attribute becomes selected based on the consequences of the attribute on him. Hope about the benefits of the product on him. Hope about what the product does to him. The answer to the benefits of the product will reveal information about the values ​​he follows. Values ​​are the real reason for product selection. More useful values ​​help predict consumer behavior and needs.

The questioning technique is as follows

• “Why did you choose the product? The answer is usually about attributes. This is at the level of consciousness.

• “why are attributes good / bad for you? Describes the consequences and benefits of attributes for him

• “Why are these benefits important to you / your business? Revealing the values ​​adopted which are the reason for the purchase decision

The above question does not have to be applied directly. Also, calculate whether the interviewee feels comfortable. For example, the question “why are attributes good / bad for you?”, Can be delivered by rotating, you often use the product? If the product does not exist, what do you do?

Freud contributed that a need was not fully expressed in words. From there, Kotler formulated various needs based on the level of clarity.

1. Required requirements (motorcycle that is not expensive)

2. Real needs (he needs a motorcycle that has low maintenance costs, not just buying costs)

Frederick Herzberg conducted research on 203 engineers and accountants in the Pittburg area and found two factors about need. The first factor is satisfying (satisfier) ​​or a factor of rental (disatisfier). This satisfying factor is a factor that, if it exists, will make people satisfied. In marketing, this factor is a factor that if any, people are encouraged to buy.

The second factor is the tenant. If there are factors of rent, people are disappointed, complain and protest. If there are no rental factors, people are not disappointed, but that does not mean being satisfied. Satisfaction and tenants are two different things. To treat disappointment, it can’t be by adding a satisfying factor. Conversely, to get satisfaction, it cannot be done by eliminating the factor of rent.

Thus the marketer has two agendas in marketing, which is to seriously eliminate the factor of rent and increase the satisfaction factor. It can’t be just one. The loss of the rental factor does not seduce people to buy, but can make the person to cancel the purchase. Suppose he was interested in a chair with a good design, but he later recognized the weakness of construction. Purchase canceled. What are the rental factors and what are the satisfaction factors. The leasing factor does not meet the quality and service standards in accordance with what is generally applicable in the industry. Suppose there is no product warranty (if it becomes a standard in the product category), product construction, fast service, the product functions properly. While satisfying factors are factors that provide more benefits than competitors and exceed industry standards.

In 1990, Robert Lauterborn offered another version of the marketing mix that emphasized the consumer’s perspective. The marketing mix of Jerome McCarthy’s version which contains 4P is more impressed by the point of view of the manufacturer or marketer. Lauterborn’s marketing mix formulation is as follows

• Customer Value (something that is valuable to consumers) instead of Products

• Cost instead of Price

• Convenience instead of Place

• Communication instead of Promotion

The background to the emergence of this idea was that more and more goods were produced and unsold, in 1990. Robert Lauterborn acknowledged the important role of McCarthy’s version 4P marketing mix that blends the art of advertising and management. According to Lauterborn, 4P is more impressive the point of view of producers, not consumers. Maybe McCarthy didn’t mean that, but the person who studied McCarthy’s ideas in depth would easily misinterpret. The misinterpretation is because the term used is more of a producer’s perspective.

Customer Value (Benefits for Consumers)

Forget products, learn the needs and desires of the target market. Neoclassical economics assumes that products create their own markets, because human needs are unlimited. Now that is no longer valid, when production is abundant. The consumer only buys something he wants. The seller needs to understand in advance what is the needs and desires of the consumer, then design the product. By actively adjusting supply to the needs, there is no loss of production.

Cost

Forget prices, understand the costs and sacrifices of consumers. Consumer costs are not only the official price. Price tag is only one part of consumer costs. Travel back and forth to the store is a sacrifice of time, effort, cost. Guilt also includes sacrifice, if for example the product offered is contrary to the conscience of the consumer, for example, the company’s production process is not environmentally friendly. The best offer for consumers is not the best cake and the cheapest price, the factor of consideration is complex. If the cheap tasty cake contains pork oil, Muslims consider it worthless because of the huge sacrifice costs

Convenience

Forget the location. Now to access product offerings, consumers don’t have to go anywhere. They can open the internet, search for the desired product and order. Food messages can be done via the internet. The location is important because it provides convenient access to products and services. Now convenience and ease of access can be obtained through other means, namely the internet and delivery system. In Indonesia, companies do not have to prepare delivery services. Online motorbikes provide delivery and purchase facilities.

Communication (Two-Way Communication)

Forget promotion. The important thing is communication. Promotion tends to be one-way. Communication is two-way, both from consumers and sellers. Adjustment between value offers and consumer needs requires two-way communication. With two-way communication, two parties adjust each other. This communication concept is in accordance with the millennium era. Because the nature of internet media is two-way communication.